Containers comprising the combination of a can and a closure are commonly used for paint and similar products. It is advantageous to use a tint plug in the closure deck so that coloring agents may be added to a base color paint by the retailer without the necessity of removing the closure from the container and compromising the primary seal. A well known commercially available tint plug is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,660,302. It comprises a combination of a circular plug having a recessed deck and an integral pull ring disposed within the recess. To release the tint plug from the closure, the user grasps the pull ring and pulls it firmly up and away from the closure.
A problem associated with prior art tint plugs is the relatively abrupt manner in which the tint plug is released from the closure when sufficient force is applied. This not only makes the tint plug difficult to release from the closure, but creates additional problems when wet paint is adhered to the inner surface of the tint plug and the abrupt release of the tint plug from the closure tends to spatter the adhered paint over objects and/or persons in the immediate area of the paint container.